KirstenL4W

So tomorrow at work, I weigh in at WW after my first week on it. It’s been a crappy week, food-wise. The cheap bastard frugal Yankee inside me didn’t want to waste any of the ice cream cake I got for my birthday, so I was eating a bit of that every night (Mister helped). Then, as I counted points earlier this week, paying attention to filling foods and not eating any crap (except the cake), I noticed that despite eating what I ought to be eating, I was not satisfied. I had a gnawing hunger inside me. I looked over my food diary and it hit me - in my quest to eat “good” foods, I had been largely ignoring carbs. I had inadvertently put myself on a South Beach style diet. No wonder I was going crazy. To rectify that, last night I had a big bowl of spaghetti. Today I had a Lean Cuisine meal that had noodles in it, and I had some cheese and whole wheat crackers for a snack. Oh, and I didn’t write down a single thing that I ate. I feel better having had some carbs. Oh, and the ice cream cake is gone. That vanished during the night.

WW programs apparently get tweaked from time to time. When I did this about 18 months ago, they had 2 choices - the regular points system, or the core system. Everyone gets the basic idea of points, so I’ll skip over that. The core program gave you an extensive list of healthy foods to eat, and you were not restricted from eating any of them or any quantity of them. Just eat until you are satisfied - know your comfort zone. The foods on the list were designed to help you feel full and get the most bang for your buck as far as being nutritious and filling ur belleh.

Today, the core program is gone. The WW program is now known as the Momentum program. Points are back for everyone, and a lot of former core foods are now known as filling foods and highlighted in the booklet. But you gotta keep track of your points. When I signed up this time, I did it with the intention that I’d do the core program this time. I found that last time I’d keep up the motivation to track points for about a week or 2, then fall off. With core, I’d have a list of good foods to eat and that’s it. The list wasn’t restrictive at all, unless you insist on living on a diet of fast food and junk food. I knew I could do it with the guidance of the core program.

I am so over counting points.

I’ll still attend the WW meetings at work, since I paid for it. But I’m already aware of what I put in my mouth, and I make a decent effort at eating healthy as it is. The place I need to make more of an effort is planning and shopping. I need to have enough of a plan so I don’t make bad choices at the supermarket. And I need to plan well enough ahead so that I bring my lunch to work instead of going out all the time (that second one saves $$$ too). Buy healthy snacks for work, which is my downfall, and have plenty of healthy stuff at home. Just tell me what those healthy foods are so I don’t go nuts. Give me the alternatives so that I can satisfy my cravings without major sabotage. Don’t make me count points. I don’t mind writing down what I eat, but I don’t want to do the math. It takes up too much of my precious time. While I understand the reasoning behind keeping a food diary - to make you more aware of what goes in your mouth - I think that once someone has a decent grasp of what’s good and what isn’t, counting points/calories/whatever can be counter intuitive by focusing too much on food. Food should be a healthy habit, not a point counting OCD nightmare.

I have to admit that even my chocolate cravings have waned quite a bit. Did you know that I have a bunch of chocolate here on my desk at home that has been pretty much untouched since I got it at Christmas? I’m not talking about the super yucky chocolate or something coffee flavored that I don’t like. This is the big H - Hershey’s. I love Hershey’s chocolate. I love it so much that I look at it every day. If it were in my desk at work, it would not have made it to see 2009. I obviously have the willpower to resist. Plus I find a nice glass of chocolate milk (lactose-free skim) does so much more for me than a candy bar or brownie. And honestly, I think the vitamin regimen is helping too. I recently started a daily cocktail of calcium, magnesium and a daily multi, and I really think it’s helping. Put it this way: I have PMS right now, but you’d never know it by my cravings. How unbelievable is that?

So like I said, I’ll continue the WW at work, at least for this 10-session period. But what I really need is to take all the information I have and come up with a healthy way of eating and living that works for me. I’m tired of being overweight, and tired of counting points. I think there’s enough good information in my arsenal to start forming healthier habits. I’m determined to do this!

Other Posts Like Me:

• Weighing In
• Trying to Walk the Healthy Path
• Weighty Matters
• Weighty Matters, 3 Times the Charm
• It Doesn’t Make Sense

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